Iranian cyber actors were "almost certainly" behind a large number of websites and social media accounts that sent death threats against senior officials tasked with securing and managing the 2020 elections, two US security agencies have announced.
In a joint statement published on December 23, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said they had "highly credible information" indicating that Iran was responsible for the operation.
This operation by relevant US agencies "has highlighted an ongoing Iranian goal to create division and distrust in the United States and to undermine public confidence in the US electoral process."
The websites and social media accounts, called “Enemy of the People” and “Enemy of the Nation,” were created in early December and included the names, photos, contact details, and home addresses of 38 U.S. federal, state, and local officials, as well as citizens employed by Dominion – a company that sells software and electronic voting equipment.
President Trump, his legal team and a number of his allies have made allegations in recent weeks about electronic voting fraud in several swing states involving the company Dominion.
But federal courts have dismissed lawsuits that referenced those claims.
The special operation against these accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Parler, V-Contacts, Pinterest and Gab began after seeing that, through them, calls were being distributed for President Trump's supporters to add details about more individuals who "betrayed our country and democratic ideals."
FBI Director Christopher Wray, former CISA chief Chris Krebs – who was fired last month by Mr Trump for contradicting his claims of voter fraud – Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and the state’s voting systems enforcement manager Gabriel Sterling were among the officials who received threats from these domains.
As part of this operation, a large number of accounts and websites were removed, which were considered part of the Iranian campaign.
(Full article in English at BBC)